There was a buzz circulating throughout the St. Joe’s campus early this December. It was tangible. There was electricity and excitement as the MSG network descended upon the school in order to broadcast Karl Towne’s decision to attend the Uni-versity of Kentucky. A mobile studio was parked outside the gym. Inside the gym panels were set up and gi-ant screens were displayed.

Even though Karl is just “one of the guys” here at St. Joe’s, it’s no se-cret that he has a bright future in basketball. Every major college pro-gram had him on their radar. Rumors were circulating that Florida, Duke, and Kentucky were the front run-ners, with Rutgers and Seton Hall also in the equation. Jay Williams was spotted on campus the evening be-fore the big announcement, so Duke looked like the choice. The entire St. Joe’s community was in the gym for the media event. MSG Varsity had set up several giant screens throughout the gym. Before the announcement, the screens replayed scenes from last year’s championship season. As the student body cheered to the some key plays of the Falcon basketball team, the broadcasters discussed the process and the pressure put on top recruits for major college athletics. When the moment came there was a silence of anticipation; a silence that was remarkable as there were 800 teenage boys in the gym.

Karl Townes Declares His Intent to Attend Kentucky

St. Joseph’s ProfesserThe community newsletter for families, alumni, & friends February 2013

Photos by Eugene Tyrrell ‘75Many facets of the big day.

Continued on page 4

Photo courtesy of Mr. Scarano

The respect Life Club participated in the annual Respect life March in Washing-ton DC on Jan. 25, 2013. Our mission is to support and promote the Catholic Church’s pro life positions. We were honored to be in DC along with the other 650,000 participants.

ST. JOe’S GOeS TO WASHInGTOn, D.C.

Chess Culture Thrives at St. Joe’s It seems as if where ever you go on

the St. Joe’s campus, there is a chess board. In the library, in the cafeteria, in Woodburn Hall, or in front of the mural, chess boards and their pieces are scattered waiting to be utilized. In many high schools those chess pieces would remain dormant. Not at St. Joe’s. In the morning, during the break, and especially after school, you will find students engaged in chess matches. Their focus is stoic, and some matches even attract. Jay Weng, a junior and a lineman on the football team, claims that he plays often in order to relax.

As a result of our chess culture, St. Joe’s has also been able to cultivate a thriving chess tradition. Mr. Fisher, who has been coaching the chess team here at St. Joe’s for thirty two years, proudly points out that St. Joe’s has been the state champion three

times (1999, 2000, and 2001), and we have been division champions in the Jersey Shore Chess League. Currently our top players are Terence Coelho, Tyler Vitale, and Thomas Bender.

Tyler Vitale, who goes by the nick-name “Torch” explained his passion

for chess. “I enjoy chess because it al-lows me to exercise my brain in mul-tiple ways. It feels great when I am able to out think an opponent and win. “

With all the chess being played here at St. Joe’s, everybody wins.

For the second time in three years, St. Joe’s has been selected by the UGotBrains competition, which is sponsored by the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, and focuses on driving safety aware-ness. The competition challenges New Jersey High Schools to pres-ent an advertising campaign that promotes safe driving among teens.

Two years ago St. Joe’s was rec-ognized as a champion school with the production of the short film DBT (Death by Texting). This short film was a black and white silent movie in which the entire dialog was ex-pressed by texting in text speak. It was a quick vignette where boy meets girl and communicates via text messing. The protagonist is killed as a result of texting while driving.

The UGotBrains completion fur-ther recognized St. Joe’s by honor-ing the student film makers with the distinction of having the best story. DBT was also featured last year at the Garden State Film Festival in

Asbury Park. This year, the film club is develop-

ing a music video with the working title In the Dark. The video will be based on the tragic accident of St. Joe’s Alum Gabe Hurley who lost his eye sight in a car accident. The video will present its story from two points of view. One point of view will be of a group of teens involved in drag racing. They will goad each other on to prove their courage by reckless driving. Their bravado will end tragically as the drag racing will result in a horrific car accident. The

other point of view in the video will be of the victim.

Student film makers, musicians, and actors are all involved with this pro-duction. Nico Francisco and William Walsh will be directing, Kevin Eustace is in charge of the score, and Dr. Ellis will be acting faculty producer with Mr. Tyrrell.

Once the video is complete, it will be pre-

sented in May to the UGotBra!ns finals at New Jersey Manufac-tures Insurance headquarters in Ewing. There will be dozens of other schools present. Then the project will be broadcasted via Youtube and Facebook as well as be entered in various film fest throughout New Jersey. The production prom-ises to be a challenging and some-times grueling affair, but if it can change the behavior of just a few young drivers, the effort will be worth it.

UGotBrains Competition Selects St. Joe’s as a Champion School

Photo by staffTwo brainiacs

Photo by staffThe film club is recognized for short film: DBT.

Since 2001 the Food Fest has been an annual event at St. Joe’s, begin-ning humbly enough as a gathering exclusively for The Asian Cultural Club. The first Food Fest consisted of about fifteen students who brought in pot luck dinners prepared by their moms. The dishes were reheated in the faculty room microwave before being taxied into the cafeteria. The alluring aroma of the various dishes linger throughout the after school hallways enticing many non mem-bers to the table set by the Asian Club, Begrudgingly, the members of the club shared what they had with their fellow St. Joe’s students.

Soon, other cultural clubs desired to take part in the event. One by one, the clubs joined the ranks. The Umo-ja Club, the Spanish Heritage Society, the German Club, the French Club, the Italian Club, the Polish Club and even the Irish Club became part of this event. The Food Fest emerged as a annual tradition at St. Joe’s. Every Thursday before Thanksgiving the Food Fest would be held. Literally several hundred teenage boys would take over the cafeteria and share “special dishes” that reflected their unique cultural back grounds; “mac and cheese”, curry chicken, stuffed cabbage, and egg rolls would reflect the culinary delight that marked the Food Fest. Diversity and unity cel-ebrated in the same event. Everyone ate, and everyone worked. The caf-eteria and the kitchen would always be left cleaner after the Food Fest than before it.

This year, Super Storm Sandy changed everything. St. Joe’s was shut down for two weeks. When school resumed there was only a week to coordinate the event. Con-sidering that most of us were still digging out from the storm in one way or the other, organizing such an event would be futile. Food Fest, however, was more than a culinary event. Like most occasions when people break bread together, it was a spiritual event, and spiritual events

don’t die, they just transform. Food Fest would be no excep-tion. Thanks to Frau Rhomberg and Ms. Bonnelli, Food Fest would be reinvented. It would become a Christmas celebration. The moderators of the cultural clubs met and organized a more manageable and yet more giv-ing event.

Mr. Burke and Ms. Canciello con-curred with their fellow moderators and all the clubs unified with the new Food Fest. Deserts would be the only course, and each participant was to bring a Christmas present

for the Toys for Tots program which was coordinated by Mr. Scarano. The event was a big success. The af-ternoon peaked with the good Frau Rhomberg leading the celebrants in singing Christmas carols in German.

The future of Food Fest is still to be determined. It does, however, prom-ise to be a significant tradition of diversity and unity here at St. Joe’s.

Photo by staff

Food Fest 2012 a spiri-tual uniting of cultures through the sharing of food.

Food Fest Transformed for the Holidays

A poised Karl Townes first an-nounced that he was being reclassi-fied to be part of the graduating class of 2014, and then he revealed his de-cision to attend Kentucky. The choice inspired cheers from the crowd, but surprised none. After all, Karl had played under Kentucky Coach Jim Calapari during the summer when Karl played for the Dominican Re-public national team. During that re-markable tenure, Karl earned the nick name the Dominican Dirk Nowitski, and was able to challenge two of his basketball heroes LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Karl Townes is currently part of a Falcon team that is on a quest to defend both county and state titles. He is also part of a proud tradition of Falcon basketball which includes current Philadelphia 76er Andrew Bynum, former Chicago Bull and Duke

great Jay Williams, former Washing-ton Bullet Gary Witts, and perhaps the first great Falcon basketball player Frank Fitzgerald who played for the Cincinnati Royals and was also in attendance during Karl’s big announcement.

It’s three thirty in the library on a Thursday afternoon right before exams. Two students huddle over a computer engaging in the Acellus program for algebra. One student patiently instructs his fellow stu-dents on the intricacies of the math-ematical equation. The student is a volunteer tutor even though he ar-ticulates the material as if he were a seasoned instructor. The student be-ing tutored listens attentively. There is a bond between the two students. As the clock approaches four the ses-sion is winding down. Both students seem to have worked as hard as they could. The tutor wishes his fellow student good luck on the exam and tells him to call or email if there are any questions.

ASAP stands for After School Aca-demic Program. The program was suggested by school President Law-rence Walsh ‘68 after he observed the program at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. According to Mr. Walsh, he was impressed with the program be-cause, “the school was taking a pro-

active approach to the problem of stu-dent performance. They were not waiting until a stu-dent failed or got so far behind that it was impossible for the student to catch up. “

At St. Joe’s, we decided to do it differently. Mr. Harring, who admin-isters the program, created a sys-tem where students help students. Mr. Harring elaborated, “I see it as a great opportunity for those who are struggling to catch back up. The best part of the program is watching the interaction between the students. Seeing them working so well together is a testament to the type of student that St. Joe’s de-velops.”

According to junior Chris Welle, “The program has improved my grades in Algebra II and Physics. It has taught me better study habits, and everyone helps each other out here. “

Tutor Dan Blackburn concurs, “It’s

great to be able to help other stu-dents with concepts that they are struggling to understand. Plus, you learn the material better at the same time.

Volunteer tutors are matched with a partner who was selected for the program because of a low GPA, or because they may be struggling in a specific subject. Students cluster either around a table or a few com-puters based on the subject mat-ter. The result is a library that would rival Athens. Young scholars talk softly but intently on subject mat-ter that range from chemistry to literature. Besides the obvious posi-tive result of student’s grades in-creasing, the fraternal community of St. Joe’s is reinforced. After all, it is the St. Joe’s way.

ASAP, After School Help— The St. Joe’s Way

Photo by staffA typical ASAP session.

The Professor is produced for the St. Joseph High School community by Eugene Tyrrell ‘75 and Dr. Robert Longhi ‘81.

Karl Townes Declares Continued from page 1

Photos by staff Celebrating the success of a fellow student.